Late
by Laugh After Pain
Summary: Kaoru waits for a certain blond who was supposed to meet him at six for their date. TamaKao


Kaoru checked his watch for what felt like the twelfth time since he'd arrived at the fountain. Tamaki had said he would be there at six o'clock sharp, and Tamaki was always twenty minutes early. It was coming up on quarter past, and Kaoru was starting to get worried. Theoretically, Tamaki should've been here half an hour ago. Biting his lip, Kaoru pulled out his cell phone.

Not to say Tamaki was never late, of course, Kaoru reasoned as he scrolled through his address book for his boyfriend's number. It's just that Tamaki always called. He always had a good reason. If it could be helped, he was never, ever, _ever_ late for a date. That just wasn't Tamaki.

Kaoru pressed enter when he scrolled over Tamaki's name and held the phone to his ear. It rang once. Twice. Already, Kaoru could feel that something was terribly wrong; Tamaki always picked up on the first ring, especially when it came to his boyfriend's calls. Three times. Four. Kaoru rolled over to voicemail, a program he wasn't even aware Tamaki had. He bit his lip.

"Tamaki? You there? It's me. Call me, 'kay?" he left his short message and closed his flip-phone to end the call. There was no need to say who it was calling, because Tamaki knew his voice, and, surprisingly, few people actually called the blond. A minute or less passed, and Kaoru's phone started ringing like crazy. He grinned and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kaoru, sorry to call, I know you're...out," Hikaru said awkwardly. Kaoru frowned, partly because his twin was still getting used to his relationship with Tamaki and partly because it was his twin and not Tamaki calling. "Listen, the printer's out of ink, and that paper's due tomorrow."

"What paper?"

"The one you finished last week," Hikaru muttered. Kaoru normally would have grinned, but he hadn't even asked the question to be obnoxious; his mind was preoccupied, and he'd legitimately forgotten. "So, hey, can you pick up ink while you're out? If I don't print tonight, my head's on the chopping block."

"E-mail it to Haruhi and have her print it," Kaoru said flatly. He could _hear_ his brother blushing, exactly the effect he was hoping for.

"J-Just get ink! Okay, bye!" Hikaru sputtered, and Kaoru hung up feeling rather satisfied. It was only then that he realized Tamaki was still-

"Kaoru!"

Kaoru turned, startled, to see Tamaki running up to him, a giant bouquet of red roses in one hand. He blushed.

"I called-" he started weakly, but Tamaki cut him off.

"I'm sorry I was late!" he apologized. "I made a stop at the florist, and then I wanted to try riding the train, like the commoners do! You know they don't have reception underground! It's so delightfully primitive!" Tamaki was beside himself with glee as he flipped open his phone. "Oh, hang on, I have a message." He held it up to his ear.

"Tama-"

Tamaki's expression contorted. "It's from you," he stated the obvious. "You sound upset..." He hung up quickly and shoved his phone into his pocket, stepping closer to his boyfriend. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Kaoru replied with a smile. "I was just worried. I didn't know where you were, and-" Tamaki blinked, confused, and checked his watch.

"Six twenty-five!" he hollered. "I had no idea I was so late! Curse that commoner's backwards mode of transportation! Curse it and its underground-ness and the squeaking of its wheels against tracks and its funny-smelling, poorly-clad tenants and its rats!"

"There were _rats_ down there?" Kaoru squeaked. Tamaki dramatically threw his arms around the redhead and pulled him close; Kaoru closed his eyes, taking in the scent of Tamaki's sweet-smelling aftershave.

"I'm sorry I made you worry," Tamaki said, and Kaoru smiled.

"Better late than never," he pointed out, snuggling a little closer. Again, Tamaki acted without warning, pulling away so quickly Kaoru nearly fell over.

"I almost forgot!" the blond cried, thrusting the bouquet under Kaoru's nose. "Happy three month, six days, four hours, twenty-two minutes, and-" He checked his watch. "-sixteen second anniversary!"

Kaoru stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter and taking the roses.

"You're silly," he giggled. Tamaki leaned over the roses and rubbed his nose against Kaoru's.

"That's why you love me," he replied, and he said it so smoothly, so elegantly, that Kaoru almost forgot to blush.

Almost.


End file.
